Canada WNT readies for USA matchup in Winnipeg

May 1, 2014 - Canada’s Women’s National Team will have 21 players arriving into Winnipeg, MB, as they play their first home game of 2014 against their heated rivals out of the United States.

The game on Thursday 8 May at Investors Group Field will be the second meeting of the year between the two teams after the Americans eked out a narrow 1:0 win in Texas.

Nkem Ezurike in preseason action for the Breakers (Photo By Mike Gridley)

The Winnipeg camp will see the return of forward Melissa Tancredi, who is back in the National Team fold for the first time since Canada played the Americans at BMO Field last year. Tancredi is back playing professional soccer with the Chicago Red Stars and with the national program after taking time off after the 2012 Olympics to complete a chiropractic program degree.

Also included in the squad are five players who could see action this summer at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014 in Sura Yekka, Ashley Lawrence, Jessie Fleming, Kadeisha Buchanan and Rebecca Quinn.

Yekka and Fleming were influential members of Canada’s Women’s U-17 Team that reached the quarterfinals at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica in March and Quinn impressed with the senior team as a late call-up during the Cyprus Cup.

Players will start to arrive in Winnipeg over the weekend in advance of the team’s first full training session on Monday.

The game will be broadcast live on Sportsnet One at 19.00 local time / 20.00 ET / 17.00 PT.